What you need to know for back to school in New Caney ISD

Check out key information to prepare for the first day of school in New Caney ISD.

Dates to know

The 2026-27 calendar runs from Aug. 6, 2026-May 27, 2027. Key dates for the 2026-27 calendar include:

• Fall break: Oct. 5-9, 2026
• Thanksgiving break: Nov. 20-27, 2026
• Winter break: Dec. 17, 2026-Jan. 4, 2027
• Mid-winter break: Feb. 8-12, 2027
• Spring break: March 26-April 2, 2027

Students will also have additional days off on:

• Sept. 7 (Labor Day)
• Oct. 12 (professional development)
• Jan. 5 (professional development/weather day)
• Jan. 18 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
• March 15 (professional development/weather day)

Students who attend Infinity Early College High School will follow a separate calendar for the 2026-27 school year, which begins Aug. 17. To view IECHS's 2026-27 calendar, click here.

Something to note

As previously reported by Community Impact, school times for the 2026-27 school year are as follows:

• Elementary schools: 8:30 a.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Middle schools: 7 a.m.-2:25 p.m.
• High schools: 7:40 a.m.-3:20 p.m.
• IECHS: 7 a.m.-3 p.m.

What's new?

In March, the NCISD board of trustees approved the 2026-27 compensation plan, which gave raises to district police officers and bus drivers. During the same meeting, the board also approved Superintendent Matt Calvert's contract for 2026 and extended it to 2030.

Shortly after in April, trustees approved $750 retention stipends for all full-time district employees returning in the 2026-27 school year. Expected to cost $2.1 million in total, district officials noted employees who are paid a retention stipend but resign before completing their contract for the 2026-27 school year will be required to pay the stipend back to NCISD.

In June, district officials outlined the need to add at least 75 additional employees for the special education department to meet a growing demand for special education services. Per the presentation, NCISD's special education student population grew by about 1,800 students from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

Additionally, the new 110,000-square-foot New Caney Elementary School replacement campus will open to students for the 2026-27 school year, as previously reported by Community Impact. Construction on the roughly $47 million campus began in late 2024 and was funded by the district's $695 million bond package approved by voters in May 2023.

Important to note

• Transportation: All students will be issued a new SMART tag ID badge for the 2026-27 school year at no cost, according to information on NCISD's website. Returning students will need to use their old SMART tag badges until new ones are issued. To find your bus stop, click here.
• Child nutrition: NCISD will offer free breakfast to all students for the 2026-27 school year, according to information on the district's website. To view lunch menus, account balances, make payments or apply for free/reduced lunch, click here.
• Registration: Registration for both returning and new students opened July 13, as previously reported by Community Impact. Students who do not complete the returning student registration process by Aug. 5 at 5 p.m. will be unenrolled and required to re-enroll as a new student, per information on the district's website. To complete registration for new and returning students, click here.
• Volunteering: NCISD opened volunteer applications for the 2026-27 school year July 15, as previously reported by Community Impact. All new and returning volunteers must submit a new application and pass a background check each school year. To fill out a 2026-27 volunteer application, click here.

Stay tuned

NCISD trustees are expected to consider approving the 2026-27 budget in August; however, an agenda for the Aug. 17 meeting had not been released as of press time.